Friday, October 29, 2010

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, combine egg and hot wing sauce. Mix well. Dip chicken strips in egg mixture, dredge in crushed tortilla chips, place on lightly greased baking sheet. Bake 25 to 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink in the center.

The view out my front door.

There is snow on the Rocky Mountains, so that means it is time to start baking. I don't bake much in the summer time. Heating up the kitchen when it is hot outside just doesn't appeal to me, but as soon as it cools off, the oven turns on. There is nothing like a warm kitchen, full of delicious aromas on a cold day.

This recipe, is a great way to use up the bottom of the bag crushed tortilla chips, that no one in the family will eat. The chicken is juicy and crunchy, with just a slight tang from the hot wing sauce. It is one of the quick and easy recipes I have included in my new cookbook, Busy Woman's 3 & 4 Ingredient Cookbook, that will be published next summer.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

More than 40 percent of all food produced in America is not eaten. That is about 29 million tons of food waste each year. Several years ago, during my first visit to Africa, I saw a small naked child, picking through a lot full of trash, looking for food. I cried myself to sleep that night, worrying about that child. Every since then, I try hard not waste anything.

I don't throw away the bottom of the bag crushed tortillas chips, crackers, or cereal. I put them in resealable plastic bags and freeze them. Using them as a casserole topper or as a coating, like the recipe I will be posting on Friday, "Baked Tortilla Chip Chicken Strips".

In large saucepan over medium heat, saute onion and garlic in olive oil until lightly browned. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Simmer 5 minutes.

This recipe has a unique blend of flavors and the perfect amount of heat. It is from the first cookbook I wrote, MILD TO WILD MEXICAN COOKBOOK. The recipe was a last minute addition. The designer called me, saying she needed one more salsa recipe to complete the Appetizer section of the book.

I had already put all of my salsa recipes in the cookbook, so I had to create a new one. As I opened my cabinet, I was praying for inspiration. The first thing that caught my eye, was a jar of green olives. I immediately thought back to a conversation I'd had earlier in the day with Fareed, the owner of my favorite radio station,Passion Radio, where I do my "Fast Food Friday" segment. We had discussed how much we both loved Mediterranean food, so when I saw the green olives, I knew I had to make a salsa with them in it. It only took two batches of salsa to get the desired blend of flavors.

My husband loves this recipe, so It is probably the one recipe that I make the most. When I am creating a recipe, and I get it just the way I want it, I will seldom make it again. I have to keep coming up with new recipes, because I am always working on a new cookbook, and you can't do that if you keep making the same recipe over and over again.

MILD TO WILD MEXICAN COOKBOOK, will soon be republished by my current publisher.

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

Our friend Robert has a fantastic garden. The man can grow anything. Not only is Robert a great gardener, he is also very generous. He shares the surplus vegetables from his garden with the members of our church.

Last Sunday Robert brought the last of his crops. After everyone left church with bags of fresh produce, there were still a lot of chile peppers left and a few tomatoes and a couple of heads of garlic.

I made a batch of my Mediterranean Salsa, which is my husband's favorite (I will post the recipe on Friday). After making the salsa, I still had a lot of peppers left, so I decided to roast and freeze the remaining ones.

Below are the steps I took to roast the peppers.

Pour a small amount of vegetable oil in a small bowl. Holding the pepper by it's stem, place it in the bowl and brush with oil. Do not use olive oil, it's smoke point is low and will burn. Place oiled peppers on baking sheet.

Place the peppers on the top rack in the oven. Broil at 525 degrees for 10 minutes or until charred.

Remove peppers from oven. Turn peppers over and return to the oven.

Place the roasted pepper in a bowl.

Cover with plastic wrap. Leave peppers covered until cool.

When cool, cut through the skin of the pepper by the stem with a knife. Pull the seeds out by grabbing the stem of the pepper and gently pull the top off.

Visit my blogging buddy, Bo's Blog (say that three times fast), Bo's Bowl. Not only does he have great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

My husband loves bacon, like Paula Deen loves butter. When I am creating recipes, he almost always suggests I add bacon to it. This recipe is perfect for him. It has a lot of his favorite flavors in one bowl. The rich taste of cheddar cheese, combined with the hearty flavor of beef and of course his favorite ingredient, bacon. It tastes like it's name, Bacon Cheese Burger Soup.

I am often asked how I come up with recipes. One way I come up with recipes is by going to restaurants and trying to figure out what is in the dish I am eating. I carry a small notebook with me wherever I go. The one above is the current one I am carrying. When I go to a restaurant and taste something I like, I write down what I think is in the dish and make notes in the notebook. Then I will go home and try to recreate the recipe.

Above is a picture of the page in the notebook for Bacon Cheeseburger Soup. While I was traveling this summer promoting my newest cookbook, I went to a restaurant and had a bowl of this soup. It is a simple soup, so figuring out what was in it was easy. When I returned home from my travels, this was one of the first recipes I recreated. I knew my husband would love it and since I had been out of town for so long, I thought it was time to spoil him with food he would love.

This recipe will be in the cookbook I am currently writing. The cookbook is called, BUSY WOMAN'S 3 & 4 INGREDIENT COOKBOOK. This cookbook will be available next summer.

Visit my blogging buddy, Bo's Blog (say that three times fast), Bo's Bowl. Not only does he have great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also stop by my friend Pam's blog, Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner, for more great recipes! Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too! Pam is also doing a CSN Giveaway on her blog for a $20.00 gift certificate.

Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Where did the idea come from, that gift certificates are an impersonal gift? I think gift cards to your favorite stores are a very thoughtful gift! Not only do you get exactly what you want, but you get the pleasure of shopping for it. I love to shop, so for me they are a perfect gift.

My birthday was last week. My husband and son gave me gift cards. My husband gave me a gift card to one of my favorite stores for purchasing kitchen and household items,Crate and Barrel. My son gave me a gift card to one of my favorite stores for purchasing clothing, makeup, shoes, purses, and more,Dillard's.

I love kitchen gadgets! My kitchen is full of them and I am always on the lookout for more. A couple of my favorite purchases at, Crate and Barrel, were these stainless steelsalt and pepper mills. They are so cool! You push the button on the top and fresh ground sea salt or pepper comes out the bottom. Christmas is just around the corner and they would make a great gift for the foodie in your life.

Getting gifts for your birthday is fun, but my favorite thing about birthdays are spending them with family. I was able to spend mine with my husband Stan and our son Tyler. They went out of their way to make my birthday a happy one. I am a very blessed woman to have such a wonderful husband and son!

Check out my blogging buddy, Bo's Blog (say that three times fast),Bo's Bowl. Not only does he have great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Also check out my friend Pam's blog,Pam's Midwest Kitchen Korner,for more great recipes! Once you read her blog, she will be your friend too! Pam is also doing a CSN Giveaway on her blog for a $20.00 gift certificate.

I love the the fall! It is my favorite time of the year. The leaves on the trees turning bright beautiful colors, changing a boring drive into an exciting adventure! The warm days and cool nights inspire me to sip hot drinks and make big pots of steaming soup.

This recipe tastes like a caramel apple in a cup! I make up a big batch of this for the Fall Harvest party at our church. The kids love it and always come back for seconds. It is not the cider that they love, but the sweet and sticky caramel, that is in it and on top of it. The tip off to that insight, is that they ask for extra caramel when I am preparing their mug of Caramel Apple Cider.

Check out my blogging buddy, Bo's Blog (say that three times fast), Bo's Bowl. Not only does he have great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

Tuesday, October 5, 2010

Why two aprons? Because cooking together is so much more fun! You will look stylish, cooking your Thanksgiving dinner in these aprons. Cleaning up spills is a breeze, with the pretty tea towels. And my cookbook, MY KIND OF COOKING, is full of quick and easy dishes to make your Thanksgiving dinner hassle free!

I will be drawing a name from my followers, on Friday, November 5th. The giveaway is open to all of my followers, regardless of where they live. If your name is drawn and you have a blog, I will mention your blog address on my"Fast Food Fridays" radio show on the The Passion Radio Network, and post your blog address on my blog.

Sign up as a FOLLOWER for your chance to win!

Check out my blogging buddy, Bo's blog (say that three times fast),Bo's Bowl He is giving away a fantastic cookbook called "Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook". Not only does he have great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.

My husband Stan loves this recipe! He likes to have it served over rice. The beef is so tender you can cut it with your fork. The stewed tomatoes and sweet bell peppers, create a broth full of so much flavor, that you almost want to pour it in a glass and drink it.

This recipe takes just a few minutes to prepare in the morning. I slice the peppers the night before and place them in a plastic bag. All I have to do in the morning, is brown the meat then layer the ingredients in the slow cooker. When I get home, I am met with the aroma of a delicious home cooked meal.

Check back on Tuesday, when I post the details on the November drawing.

Sign up as a follower to enter my monthly, Cookbook Giveaways!

The first Friday of each month, I draw a name from my followers, to win my cookbook and other prizes.

Check out my blogging buddy, Bo's blog (say that three times fast),Bo's Bowl He is giving away a fantastic cookbook called "Hot and Hot Fish Club Cookbook". Not only does he have great giveaways, his recipes are incredible! One visit to his blog and you will see why I faithfully follow it.